Artificial Mermaid
by LunaFaustus
Summary: Sora is an 'Artificial Mermaid', someone who has identical genes to a mermaid. She is a talented swimmer but has not competitively swum in years and she sorely misses the swimming. So when she moves to Iwatobi, she meets the swim club there and falls deeply in love with Makoto. But what happens when another Artificial Mermaid tries to break them apart to have her for himself?
1. Busted!

Some extra information: Scientists have uncovered data that proved that mermaids actually did exist at some time a long time ago. They were testing DNA from mermaid remains and were curious to see how similar they were to humans. What they found was that some families have DNA that is identical to mermaid DNA. Sora is from one of these families. Although these families have 99% mermaid genes in their own DNAs, they lacked the tail that mermaids are recognised for having. Scientists wondered if they could somehow activate these dormant Mermaid genes and worked hard to create a pill that, when swallowed would activate the mermaid genes and fuse the legs together to give them the tail when the user was in the water. The effect of the pill lasted for however long the person was in the water for. However, these families were very rare and most of the population did not believe the scientists and only saw it as rumours. People with the dormant mermaid DNA were called 'Artificial Mermaids'. Artificial mermaids would be able to instantly recognise one of their own and are always drawn to the water, feeling as if they belong in the water. They are generally fantastic swimmers.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Free! Characters in the story, or the song Splash Free, only my OCs :D  
Pairings: I plan for it to be MakotoXOC, RinXOC  
Rating: T for now

AN! PLEASE READ!  
I went through the chapter and realized that it was a little bit hard to read/follow (thank you to my reviewers for pointing this out to me!) and I have fixed it (well, it makes more sense to me now). I have cut off the last part of the chapter and it will now be the start of chapter two. Thanks everyone :)

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"_The splash that makes us free!_

_Basking in the overlapping rays' contrast_

_Feel so free today, diving into_

_Our brand new blue, yeah_

_Following our hearts __Set set set_

_Being ourselves __Kick kick kick_

_We want to grasp It __Pull pull pull_

_We can almost reach it __Deep deep deep_

_Splash free!"_

The sound of Style Five pulsed into my awaiting ears from the large, black and gold detailed headphones hanging around my neck. A thin gold cord connected my headphones to my phone which was sitting shallow in my pocket. My scuffed sneakers padded silently against the cracked concrete ground and my pink duffle bag bumped against my thigh as I snuck around the outside of the stylishly designed Iwatobi High school grounds, the school I would be attending tomorrow as a new student. The moonlight tracked my hushed progress through the large school grounds, casting my shadow on the concrete next to me, as if it were my companion.  
One could technically call this trespassing seeing as I wasn't really supposed to be here because of how late it was and seeing as I wasn't actually a student of the school until tomorrow but, I really, desperately wanted to swim. I yearned for the feeling of water accepting my body, wrapping around me in a silky movement, tangling in my long hair and throwing it every which way, bringing it to life. I wanted to feel my fingers slicing through the water, creating an opening for my body, I desired the feeling of the resistance of the water as it worked my all my body muscles.  
The urge was a deep niggling feeling in my breast that I knew I would not be able to get rid of unless I immersed myself in water. I probably could have gone for a swim in the sea, but where was the thrill of sneaking off for a swim in the ocean?  
It was a cold night so I had wrapped up warm, but if I had been smart, I wouldn't have come down here at all. But my urge to swim had gotten the better of me.  
My long, dark blue hair that faded to a lighter blue at the very ends, was bundled up inside the woollen beanie I had jammed over my head. The hood of my dark red sweatshirt covered up my beanie, casting a black shadow over my golden orange eyes and the slender lines of my face. I wore a pair of dark sweat pants on my legs. I was usually a good dresser, keeping up with the latest trends, but tonight I didn't care for my appearance. I was just here to immerse myself in some water, not impress people with what I looked like.  
People would question why I was like this, why I was so obsessed with being in the water. I put it down to the dormant mermaid genes inside my body, but whenever I tried to explain this to people, they would laugh and call me delusional. Artificial mermaids were very rare and most people were in denial that we actually existed. As a small child, I was constantly being bullied by other children and labelled as delusional and a freak. My childhood was hell because of these people and I could only escape my hellish childhood when I got in the water.  
The water accepted me for who I was. It didn't bully me or pick on me. It was a neutral object.  
The sound of a door opening somewhere behind me shocked me back into reality and I pushed myself into a quick jog down a narrow side passage between two tall buildings, eager to be in the cold water. The smell of chlorine reached my nose and it urged me on faster and faster until I came across a raised concrete area that was surrounded by a fence. At one end was a building that I presumed was a changing room and when I looked for a way up to the top of the raised area, I found some stairs. I approached said stairs, taking them one at a time to draw out the suspense for myself. When I reached the rise of the stairs I turned my body towards the pool.  
It was dark but the full moon's rays lit up the pool in an awe inspiring view. The pure white moonlight that streamed down on the clear, rippling waters made the pool's surface shine, glint and sparkle in radiance that made me breathe out a sigh of awe.  
My body was struck with a violent impulse to leap into the water and never depart from its familiar embrace.  
Yes, the water was where I belonged.  
I moved away from the stairs, my shoes scuffing on the concrete as I walked past the pool, not taking my captivated eyes off the glinting surface. I headed over to the nearest chair, dumping my bag onto the wooden seat. I opened up my pink swim bag and unloaded a pair of small speakers which I plugged my phone into. The heavy bass of my music began to flood the surrounding area, the beats pounding off into the distance. I threw my headphones into the bottom of the bag.  
I always trained to music, whether I was in the water or on the land. It helped me get into a nice rhythm.  
I sighed in happiness and began to strip my clothing off in a hurried manner, revealing my long legged black swim suit bit by bit.  
The cold night air bit into my bare skin, chiding me off doing something like this.  
I ripped my beanie off with a violent tug, letting my hair tumble down my back in a cascade of shimmering light and dark blue hues. I ran my long, elegant fingers through the silky strands and began to stretch in time with the hard beats of the music. I occasionally sang along. As I stretched out my legs, I gazed down at the gold scale pattern that decorated my legs from the waist down.  
It was these custom made togs and my swimming style that earned me my nick name as Sora "the mermaid" Ren. The mermaid shaped tattoo on my upper left arm was also responsible. When I swam competitively back in my hometown, people loved to liken me to a mermaid because of the way I swam and because of the togs I wore while I swam. It was after I won a 100m butterfly race that my friends started calling me a mermaid and I guess the nickname just kind of stuck.  
I finished up my stretches and dug through my bag for my goggles. While I was in my bag I pulled out a small bottle that contained many small round, blue tablets. I set the bottle down with a little 'clink' next to my bag.  
The pills within the brown glass bottle were specially made pills created by scientists that would activate the dormant mermaid genes when I got into water after taking one. My genes were 99% similar to mermaid genes and the pill had been created to fill in the 1% that I was missing and consequently, when I got in the pool after taking the pill, my legs would fuse together and form a tail.  
I brought them along at the last minute even though I wasn't sure I'd use one.  
I wandered up to the side of the pool, fastening my darkened goggles over my eyes and in one smooth, graceful motion, I dove in, my fingers piercing the still waters, creating a watery portal for the rest of my slim body to follow through.  
The deep tugging motion in my breast was soothed as the cold, chlorinated water embraced my body with a splashy sigh. I floated in a streamline position for a few moments, giving a few lazy butterfly kicks every now and then.  
It felt _good_ to be back into the water again after being out of it for so long. It felt natural. I belonged in the water.  
As I rolled my hips whilst giving another butterfly kick, I felt my hair brush the back of my thighs. My lungs burned for breath of sweet air so I kicked myself to the surface, breaking the ripple free surface with a loud splash.  
"Fwah!" I gasped, filling my empty lungs with oxygen, rolling onto my back in a smooth movement. "That feels good!"  
A bubble of laughter rose in my throat and echoed around the area with the loud music. I rolled back onto my stomach and started doing freestyle, my kick and arms soon getting back into a familiar pattern. My fingers carved an opening into the water and my arm followed them through, the water willingly parting for my strokes. As I neared the end of the pool, I executed a perfect tumble turn, butterfly kicking until I reached the surface upon where I started preforming my long strokes again. I stopped doing my lengths at the shallow end of the pool and removed my goggles with an excited giggle. I gave my long hair a flick and that's when I noticed him standing there, open jawed at the edge of the pool staring down at me.  
He was a tall young man with short green olive hair that was almost brown. His eyes were a lighter shade of green and at that present stage were wide open in surprise. He was holding an open water bottle that was halfway to his open mouth. He was very attractive.  
I was torn between two choices. Throwing myself at him in a tight, albeit damp hug and giving him a full introduction or picking up all my stuff and running, hoping he didn't go to the school. It was a little bit awkward, neither of us saying anything. I really did want to hop out and talk to him but my confidence gave in on me at the last moment.  
I ducked my head and leapt up on the side of the pool, keeping my eyes down. I stood up and made my way to my bag, my long hair adhering slickly to my back. I threw my pills and clothing into my bag and zipped it up swiftly. Not bothering to dry myself off or put any other clothing on, I dodged past the cute boy and he moved to the side.  
"Sorry for the intrusion." I murmured softly as I ran past him swiftly.  
I headed out of the school, running towards my home. My wet feet left moist tracks on the pavement behind me. My flat wasn't too far away from the school so it didn't take me too long to get home seeing as I was a pretty quick runner.  
I unlocked my front door and let myself in, adrenaline still pumping through my veins after the encounter with the boy.  
"I'm home." I called out into the silent apartment.  
A large white fluffy canine head popped around the corner and it was followed by a large, fluffy white body. He held his tail curled over his back. He gave an excited bark and trotted over to me, wiggling his tail happily. His orange spiked collar was loosely fastened around his neck.  
"Noiz!" I called as I ruffled his fluffy white fur. "Hm? Where's Koujaku?"  
As soon as the words slipped from my mouth, a similar dog with blue black fur came trotting round the corner casually. He slipped my hand under his head, as if telling me to pat him. I scrubbed his neck fur and the tip of his tail twitched happily. He had a red spiked collar loosely around his neck.  
These two, named after my two favourite characters from the visual novel, DRAMAtical Murder, were my pride and joy. They were my two male Samoyeds who I had rescued from the local pet shelter when I moved to this area a few months ago. Koujaku was conservative and calm and Noiz was noisy and energetic. They provided me with plenty of company seeing as I lived by myself.  
I pulled myself up to my feet and made my way upstairs to my room where I put my bag on my double bed. My room was full of swimming things. From posters of my swimming idols to my medals, certificates and trophies I had worked hard to win in competition swimming. One side of my room was completely dedicated to photos of my friends and I at swimming competitions that I participated in my younger years. A flood of happy memories washed through my brain and I allowed a small smile to curl at the corner of my lips.  
Those days were long gone though. I hadn't competitively swum in years now, mainly because swimming clubs wouldn't accept me as a swimmer because I was a female and you never really saw a lot of girls swimming these days. I still kept up my fitness training both on the land and in the water, so I was still reasonably fit. Ready to start swimming for a club if they wanted me.  
I gave a short sigh and rifled through my bag to grab my phone and speakers so I could listen to music as I showered. I pulled out my headphones and put them with my other pairs on a shelf by my desk but I couldn't seem to find my phone nor my speakers. Frantically, I tipped my bag upside down and my belongings came tumbling out onto the bed below. It was about this time that I had forgotten to grab them as I left the pool this evening. Dread snuck its way through my body.  
What if someone stole them? I placed a finger to my lip in thoughtfulness.  
It would be expensive to replace either of them. I vaguely hoped that the boy from earlier had picked them up.  
I headed to the shower, down hearted. On my way to the bathroom, I stopped off in the laundry. I stripped off my togs and placed them in the washing machine, giving the control panel on the front a sharp tap with the tip of my finger. When I made it to the bathroom I flicked the shower on, turning the handle towards the warmer side of the dial before stepping into the warming spray of the water.  
As I soaped up my body to rid myself of the chlorine hanging onto my skin, my thoughts somehow wandered back to the cute boy at the pools earlier.  
Was he a swimmer? Even though he had been fully clothed I could see that he had nice, broad shoulders and a slim waist. A perfect swimmers build.  
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop myself from wondering what he would look like in togs and what sort of togs he would wear.  
He was nice and tall so I thought that he would look really quite tasty in a pair of long legged togs. Ones with a nice, low slung waist that would skim over his slim hips...  
I shook my head at the slightly perverted thoughts going through my head, my hair flicking around, spraying droplets onto the glass.  
I abruptly turned the shower off and stepped out, grabbing a soft, white towel that had been hanging on the heated towel rack and scrubbed myself dry. I pulled myself into a pair of silk short shorts with cute orca designs on them and a black singlet with an enlarged orca across the bust. I walked back to my room, scuffing at my hair with my towel. I threw the towel down on the floor lazily and climbed over the sleeping forms of Noiz and Koujaku strewn at the foot of my bed. I pulled the covers back and snuggled down between the layers of cool sheets, my body relaxing immediately as it sunk into the bouncy mattress beneath. It didn't take me long to get to sleep that night, and when I did, I dreamt about the sea and the boy from the pool.

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_Heeeeeey everyone!  
Please don't hate me for a new story, I've just had this idea in my head for quite some time now and I needed to get it out!  
You know the drill, review, fave and follow pretty please.  
If you want, you can follow me on Twitter, just type my name into the search bar :P  
Please let me know if you enjoyed it or not so I know what to improve on!  
Thanks for reading everyone.  
Love, LunaFaustus 3  
xoxo_


	2. Unintentional Perverted Thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Free! characters. Only my OC

* * *

I was thrown into sudden awareness by the raucous music of my alarm clock blasting out some track from some visual novel.  
I gave an unmotivated groan and rolled over, smacking at the alarm blindly with the back of my hand, until I made contact with the snooze button which abruptly cut off the upbeat song mid-way through.  
I flipped the bed sheets towards the end of the bed and sat up, wiping the sleep from the corners of my golden orange eyes with my thumbs. I let my eyes fully adjust to the brightness of the sunlight coursing through my window before I decided to extract my body from the soft mattress which seemed to call out to me, telling me to stay in bed a little longer.

I gave a yawn as I swung my legs out of the bed. I drew myself over to the clothing I had prepared the night before. I looked down on it for a long second, processing the clothing lain out below me. It took me some time to comprehend what the items were and how I would go about putting them on.  
I hadn't actually gotten around to buying a uniform yet so the principal had just told me to wear mufti for the day. I gave another loud yawn as it came back to me in a rush. I started with a pair of bright, aqua blue boy leg underwear and a matching bra with similar orca designs as on my pyjamas.  
If you couldn't tell, my favourite animal was an Orca. They were just so awesome, so graceful and so deadly. Beautiful killing machines. If I was reborn as an animal, I would want it to be as an Orca.  
I shimmied into my favourite pair of pale blue skinny jeans which tightly hugged the outline of my legs. I pulled a black singlet that had the quote 'I only date cute swimmers' dashed across the front in neon blue over my head and rolled the hem over my toned stomach. I turned to the mirror hanging on my wall between a gap in my photos and ran a brush quickly through the long locks of my hair. I fastened the blue tresses into a loose plait, some stray strands of my hair escaping from the weaves. I applied a little bit of waterproof mascara and pale pink lip gloss before I turned away from the mirror, happy with my appearance.  
I looped a pair of bright pink and black headphones around my neck, the soft, spongy pads resting against my collarbone. I tucked my iPod into the tight jean pocket after connecting it to my headphones. I started up a lively music track with heavy bass.  
I scooped up a pair of black under the knee lace-up boots and my aqua blue duffel bag, slinging the bag over my right shoulder. I hesitated as I passed by the open door of my wardrobe which held all my swimming togs, from my long legged racing ones, to the ones with a high cut on my hips. They all had the same scale pattern from the waist down but were all a different colour combination. I examined my extensive collection, clicking my tongue piercing against the roof of my mouth in thought and decided to grab a pair.  
_The opportunity to swim could pop up today and I don't want to be caught unprepared…_ I reasoned with myself as I grabbed the pale blue mid length pair with silvery scale patterning down to above my knees, tucking it into my bag neatly.  
I snatched up a towel from a basket at the bottom of my wardrobe and tromped down the stairs humming to myself.  
Dropping my gear off by the table, I went and fed Noiz and Koujaku who were waiting by their respective food bowls patiently.  
Noiz barked and gave me a nudge with his snout as I poured dry dog biscuits into their bowls impatiently. I ruffled his fur and picked up my bento box from the fridge. As I walked away from the fridge, my eye caught the time.  
"Uwah! I'm going to be late!" I cried as I shoved my feet into my boots and hurriedly doing up the laces. "See ya later Noiz, Koujaku!  
I didn't need to worry about those two tearing up my home as they had free access to the backyard.  
I dashed out the door and sprinted out onto the sidewalk, my duffle bag bumping against my thigh. My heels clattered against the concrete as I quickly traversed the steps down, stopping when something mewled up at me.  
I looked down and saw a tiny white kitten hiding beneath a wide green leaf at the edge of one of the steps.  
"Hi there, little cutie." I exclaimed as I bent down and gave it a scratch under its small chin with a fingertip.  
I smiled down at it as it began to purr in happiness, feeling the vibrations against my finger.

My brain sent me a sharp reminder about the time and I stood up quickly. I gave the little kitten a wave and leapt down the last few steps. I continued to jog down the road along the ocean front. I tried to resist the urge to stop and stare at the rolling waves crashing onto the sandy shores, but I couldn't help myself.  
My feet came to a halt and I watched the sea dance along the beach, the tame sea breeze pulling at my hair, encouraging more strands to free themselves from the plait. I stood there for a few minutes, just enjoying the view of the sea. I was glad that I had moved to a place that was so close to the sea.  
I gave my head a firm shake and forced my feet to move again, turning my head away from the sea.

I reached the school in five minutes. All around me were students entering the school grounds in groups and excitement crashed through my body at the thought of being able to make new friends. First though, I had to report to the teacher's lounge to see which form room I was in. I pulled my bag back up onto my shoulder properly and with a happy smile, I began to stride towards the main building.  
However, as I began to walk without bothering to look, someone walked in front of me and we collided and the situation became a bit messy.  
As I put my foot forward, the other person did too, our two feet tangling. The person jerked his foot back, taking mine with theirs, causing me to fall forward. I gave a shriek of surprise as I fell and the person turned around so that they had their back to the ground. I squeezed my eyes closed, waiting for the hard impact.  
There was a soft thud and a little bit of a jolt. I lay still for a moment, admittedly feeling quite comfortable as the person's hard chest rose and fell along with their steady breaths. When I finally sat up, I opened my eyes and saw familiar green eyes staring up at me, unblinking in shock.  
It was the boy from yesterday. And I was straddling his groin.  
A blush invaded my cheeks and I leapt off of him, fixing up my singlet as it had dipped low on one side, flashing him a cheeky snippet of bright aqua and half an orca.  
"Ah! I'm sorry!" I cried as I stood there, looking at him unsure of what to do.  
I realised that if he recognised me, he could report me to the principal for trespassing. I muttered a hurried goodbye, dipping my head apologetically at him and his friends and I turned my back on him to scuttle away.  
However, I suddenly felt someone grab my wrist in a surprisingly strong grip and I turned my face down to see the green eyed boy holding my wrist in one of his hands, his other propping himself up.

God, was he attractive! The look on his face made me want to swoon like a fan girl.  
"Wait a moment." He said as he stood up, brushing the dirt from his school pants. "You're familiar somehow…"  
He was so tall! The top of my head barely made his nose and I felt like the little white kitten next to him. His size was kind of intimidating and I was frozen in place as he examined me closely. As silly as it sounds, I was mesmerized by his eyes tracking over my body in deliberate slowness.  
His eyes travelled from my face, to my hair and then to my left arm where my tattoo was proudly displayed. His eyes lit up in recognition.  
"Hey! You're that girl from last night!" he exclaimed, finally recognising me.  
"Uhm, please don't report me for trespassing." I murmured in a low voice as other students looked at us curiously.  
He gave a little laugh and a genuine smile filled his face, causing a little blush to tint my cheeks lightly.  
"Don't worry, I won't. Say, what's your name?" he said to me as he motioned a group of three boys over.  
"Sora Renchika and you?" I said pulling off a charming smile as I readjusted my bag.  
"Makoto Tachibana. It's nice to meet you, Sora."  
I opened my mouth to ask about his feminine name when something slammed into my back heavily. I gave an exclamation of surprise and turned my head to see a younger boy with wavy blonde hair latched onto my back like an overgrown leech.  
"Sora chan! Why were you swimming so late last night at the pool?" the little blonde asked.  
"Huh? Sora _chan_?! I don't even know who you are!" I said, shaking the blonde leech off of my back. "And who told you that?!"  
He stepped in front of me with a wide, carefree grin. He extended his hand, his dark pink eyes sparkling in a childish joy. He was the shortest of the group but for what he lacked in height, he seemed to make up in enthusiasm.  
"Wow, you're pretty! I'm Nagisa Hazuki! Nice to meet ya!"  
_Another one with a girly name…? _I thought to myself as I tentatively shook his extended hand.  
Once I released the hand of the small blonde another hand was thrust into mine, gripping it tightly. In surprise, I looked up to see another tall boy. This one had cropped dark blue hair, a similar colour to mine, light purple eyes and red framed glasses. He was also quite handsome too.  
His lightly coloured eyes shined passionately as he shook my hand vigorously.  
"B-beautiful!" he stuttered. "My name is Rei Ryugazaki. The pleasure is all mine."  
"Do you all have such feminine names?" I pondered aloud, rubbing my wrist when Rei finally let go of my hand.  
"Yep! Even Haruka!" Nagisa butted in, pointing towards the silent boy standing next to Makoto. "That's Haruka Nanase!"  
With a bright smile, I extended my hand towards a very attractive looking boy. He wasn't nearly as good looking Makoto, though.  
"It's nice to meet you Haruka." I said energetically.  
He gave a silent hair flip that seemed to slow time and sent his straight black hair swirling about his face. He reached out silently with his hand to grasp mine and just before our hands touched, a blue spark flashed out from our finger tips and struck each other's hand. We both pulled our hands back at the sudden flash of pain in our hands and our eyes met each other's.  
"You too?" he asked cracking a small smile.  
"Yeah! Didn't think I'd meet someone like you here." I grinned.  
The other's looked at us in confusion and I giggled.  
"We'll explain later." Haruka said settling back into his serious expression again.  
His eyes still shined happily though and I couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face.  
Haruka was the first artificial mermaid I'd met in god knows how long. It was nice to meet someone like me, who knew how I felt. He must know the way the water seemed to call out to him, encouraging him to lose himself in the flow of the water.  
_I wonder if he carries his pills with him like I do…  
_I suddenly remembered that I needed to be somewhere important.  
"Hey, it was nice to meet you all, but I have to get going. I have somewhere I need to be. I guess I'll see you guys round the school." I said inclining my head politely, letting my eyes linger on Makoto's face for a second longer.  
I turned on my heel and pressed myself into a swift jog, heading towards the teacher's lounge.

~xXx~

As it turned out, my teacher was a lively young woman with shoulder length brown hair. She had introduced herself with a bright smile, telling me to just call her Ama chan seeing as the rest of her students did.  
Currently, I was following her to my form class. She was burbling happily about her class whilst clutching at a stack of books and I nodded my head politely every now and then to show her that I was listening. My mind, however, was elsewhere. Deep in thought about swimming and Haruka, the artificial mermaid.  
Annnnnnnnd Makoto. He was a constant presence in my head and it was quite distracting. If it turned out that he was a swimmer, I couldn't wait to see him in his swimsuit. The recurring image of him in long legged togs put my mind into overdrive. I could just see it now. The way his swimsuit would skim over his hips, water dripping from his hair, following the curve of his face down over the ridge of his collar bone to travel through the valleys between his abdominal muscles.  
"Sora…? Miss Sora…?" Ama chan called out to me, waving her hand in front of my face.  
I snapped back into reality, giving my head a swift shake that dislodged the image of Makoto. What was I? A pervert? My thoughts seemed to indicate I was.  
"Oh, yes! Sorry, I was day dreaming…" I said with a sheepish smile.  
She smiled back at me.  
"That's fine, nothing wrong with dreaming. There is an old saying that goes-"  
The shrill call of the bell broke through her sentence, causing us both to jump in fright.  
"Oh my! There's the bell! Better get into class then!" she said pushing the classroom door open.  
She strode in the room, clapping her hands the best she could with a stack of books in her arms. I followed her in without hesitation.  
"Alright class, time to settle!" she called putting the books on her desk. "Now, today we have a new student joining our class. Everyone, this is Sora Renchika."  
She gestured to me to introduce myself to the classroom. I unleashed an energetic smile upon the class as I scanned the faces in the classroom.  
"Good morning everyone! My name is Sora Renchika and I'll be joining-" I stuttered as I caught the familiar faces of Haruka and Makoto sitting next to each other at the back of the class. Makoto gave me a sweet smile and a little wave which caused a furious blush seized my cheeks. "I'll be joining your class. Please take care of me!"  
I bowed my head politely and Ama chan stepped forward, gesturing with her hands at no one in particular.  
"Because Sora is new to the school, would someone be able to look after her and show her round the school. Just to make sure she settles in nicely. Anyone keen to help her out?" Ama chan said weaving her fingers together.

There was a flurry of movement as hands were raised simultaneously. Ama chan studied the faces of the people who had their hands up.  
"Hmmmm. Makoto san, I'll leave her in your care." She said decisively. "You and Sora can share a desk for today until I can get another spare one."  
With an encouraging pat on my back, Ama chan walked me to Haruka and Makoto at the back, people watching me with curious eyes as we passed by.  
"You could even push your two desks together maybe, Haruka, Makoto." The teacher suggested as she walked back to the front of the classroom, leaving me with the boys.  
"Hello, stranger." Makoto said with a smile as he pushed his and Haruka's desks together.  
I picked up a nearby chair and planted myself between the two boys.  
"And who are you two again?" I giggled happily, dumping my bag at my feet.  
It seemed that this year could turn out to be quite fun.

~xXx~

The bell tolled for lunch and everyone started packing up their things. Makoto reached into his bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped up bento box and turned to me.  
"Hey Sora, wanna join us for lunch?" he asked as Haruka grabbed his own bento box.  
"Sure!" I cried excitedly as I picked out my own lunch.  
I followed the two boys up a pair of staircase that led up to the roof where a visibly excited Nagisa was conversing to Rei, already eating their lunches. Nagisa turned his head as he saw us approaching.  
"Haru chan! Mako chan!" he called, not noticing me behind them. "Hm? Sora chan! What are you doing here?!"  
He raced over to me, pushing Haruka and Makoto out of the way and seized up my wrists, bouncing elatedly.  
"Turns out that I'm same form room as them. They invited me out here for lunch. Is that okay?" I explained.  
He nodded and pulled me over to where they had been sitting down in the shadow. I smiled in greeting at Rei and I noticed the short blonde dash back over to the older two of the group who were still lingering by the door. They seemed to be discussing something. I leant in towards Rei.  
"Do you know what they're talking about? It's suspicious." I whispered unwrapping my neatly wrapped up bento box.  
Rei shook his head, adjusting his glasses with a finger. I gave a shrug and started to dig into my lunch. Halfway through my midday meal, the boys walked over, Nagisa grinning like an idiot at me. He flopped down next to me.  
"Mako chan tells us that you're a really good swimmer, is it true? Not that we don't believe him or anything…"  
I finished my mouthful.  
"I guess so." I said slowly.  
"Great! Come to our training after school!" he demanded eagerly.  
I blinked slowly, the words taking a little while to process through my head. Makoto gave Nagisa a light shove and wriggled in between us, looking me directly in the eyes.  
"Don't listen to him." He sighed. "Are you busy after school today, Sora?"  
I shook my head firmly.  
"No, I'm not busy at all."  
"Awesome, would you like to come watch the swim club train after school then?"  
My heart jumped a little bit at the offer.  
"Who's in the club?" I asked coyly.  
"Nagisa, Rei, Haruka and me. Haruka is the vice-captain and I'm the captain of the club." He said rubbing his cheek. "I remember how well you swam yesterday and I thought that you might like come along to watch."  
"Do you swim?" I asked directly.  
"Me? Of course I do."  
"I'll be there!" I said energetically. "You can count on me being there!"  
Makoto unleashed a dazzling smile.  
"Great. Meet us at the pool after class then, yeah?"  
I gave an enthusiastic nod and images started creeping back into my head.  
_Shut up brain, shut up…_ I thought to myself.

* * *

_Hello again!  
Welcome back to another episode of Artificial Mermaid!  
Please review, fave and follow. The more of these I get, the more motivated I am to keep on writing a story, so please do the above mentioned things.  
A big thanks to Xaphen and Carrie153 for reviewing!  
Keep watching this space for more!  
Love, LunaFaustus 3  
xoxo_


	3. Practice

Disclaimer: I _do not_ own any of the Free! Iwatobi Swim Club characters, I only own my Ocs. I do not own Pika Girl by S3RL either.  
_Special thanks to all the following people for reviewing :)  
Kyoichi Amaya, Ren chan Anime, szynka2496, lovelyanimeangel and hitomi!  
_

* * *

Maaaaah! I was late for the swimming practice!  
Makoto told me to come straight to the pool after the bell so he could show me the training program for the afternoon and I had promised to be there on time!  
However, 15 minutes had already passed since the bell had tolled and I had still not arrived at the pool.

_I hope he won't be angry… _ I thought to myself as I clutched my bag to my chest.  
I dodged through students journeying to their respective clubs at a swift pace, heading towards to the pool.  
Just thinking of being close to the water again made my body tingle in a mixture of excitement and giddiness. I knew I would really have to hold myself back from jumping straight in with the boys. The day had also turned out to be warm one and I knew it wouldn't help my struggle to stay put on the side of the pool.  
My feet pounded against the ground in time to the thumping beat of the music that poured from the headphones I had wrapped loosely around my neck. Unfamiliar faces turned to look at me as I ran past them, trying to figure out where the sound of the heavy beats were emitting from.  
I think the song that was currently playing was Pika Girl by S3RL. I turned up the music and listened for the lyrics, singing along with the ones I thought I could hear. People told me that I had a nice singing voice. I jokingly put it down to the mermaid genes lying dormant in my body.

"_I'd be a trainer boy, and I would make the choice  
To go and search for you  
I'd throw my pokeball, and I would catch them all  
You'd be my Pikachu.  
Pi-Pikachu!_

_You're my Pika girl in the Poke world  
Oh, I won the gym badge but you won my heart  
Pika!"  
_

I turned the music down again but kept up the pace, eager to see their practice and to see how they swam. As much as I loved swimming myself, I really enjoyed watching others swim too, it made me happy to see people enjoying the feel of the water. However, I had to admit to myself that I was more eager to see Makoto in his swimming attire than anything else this afternoon... I gave a little sigh of helplessness.  
I really did sound like a pervert.  
When I finally reached the pool, after navigating through the raucous crowds of students, the sounds of water splashing temptingly out of the pool and friendly banter reached my ears. I jogged up the stairs, the pills in my bag making sharp rattling noises as my bag bumped against my thigh. I reached the crest of the stairs and my eyes were immediately pulled towards the pool. The sun was glinting off of the surface gorgeously, which, was only broken up by ripples caused by three swimmers attending to their warm up with blue kick boards. The boards seemed to have a cute penguin design on them.

"Sooooooora chan! You came! You had Mako chan panicking, he didn't think you'd come!" Nagisa called to me as he breaststroke kicked over to me.  
A cheeky smile seized my lips and I crouched down in front of the blonde first year. I cast a sidelong glance at Makoto who was half glaring at Nagisa, an angry blush attacking his cheeks.  
"Really now?" I drawled.  
"Nagisa, finish your warm up." Makoto commanded with a light touch of authority in his voice. "And I was _not_ panicking thank you very much. I was only concerned that she may have gotten lost on the way here."  
Using one arm, he paddled over to the side, pushing Nagisa back into the middle of the lane.  
"She can probably smell water from a mile away." Nagisa giggled as he resumed his warm up.

Makoto flipped his board up next to my feet and planted his hands on the side of the pool before hauling himself up onto the side of the pool, water dribbling from his body tastefully.  
I stepped back as to not get water on my favourite pair of shoes, feeling a tiny bit smug at how correct my prediction was. He _did_ wear long legged tog after all. They were slim black ones with stripes of orange down the sides. He looked very impressive in them. I tried not to stare too hard at the way they hugged the outline of his body or ogle at the stunning shape his body was in.  
He ran a wet hand through his equally wet hair, shoving his floppy olive green bangs from his eyes and I swoon internally at the sight.  
"I guess you better meet the manager of the club, Kou, first, ne?" He said walking away, motioning me along with gorgeously kind smile.  
I stared at the wet foot prints he left, following them like a trail towards one of the open buildings. He stopped in front of an open door and gave the wooden frame a tap with the knuckles on the back of his hand.  
"Kou? I'm coming in, there's someone I want you to meet." He said stepping into the slightly darkened room.  
I stayed where I was, unsure of whether I should go in or stay outside by the pool. In the background I could hear Nagisa calling out to Rei, telling him to stop stretching and get in the water already. Rei argued back, telling Nagisa that he needed to stretch properly so he wouldn't get cramp. I gave an inward smile at their cheerful banter.  
This club really had a wholesome and radiant vibe to it. It kind of reminded me of my childhood swimming club.  
Suddenly, I felt rather at home with these people…  
"Sora? You coming in?" Makoto called from the doorway, looking a little bit worried.  
I snapped out of my day dream and gave a little smile, tilting my head to the side.  
"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.  
"Yes, I'm fine thanks. I just spaced out a little, I guess…" I laughed, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.  
I dodged in the doorway, my eyes immediately falling upon a red haired figure hunched over a large piece of paper that had had some sort of writing on it. Makoto followed me through, cold water dripping onto my tattooed arm. He dropped his hand onto my bare shoulder.  
"Kou, this is who I wanted you to meet." He called out to the hunched over person.  
Said person turned their head around, revealing a girl with a rather cute, yet, desperate face.  
"One more swimmer…" she murmured in a creepy kind of way.  
Makoto nudged me, as if telling me to introduce myself to the red head.  
"Oh! Um, my name is Sora Renchika. I'm here to observe the swimming practice. It's nice to meet you."  
The sluggish, so called manager of the team whirled around and leapt to her feet. She seized up my hands and held them in a crushing grip. I gave a little squeak of surprise at sudden liveliness of her actions.  
"You! Sora! Can you swim?!" she cried, slightly taking me aback.  
"Umm, yes?"  
"Good! Join our club so we can do another joint practice with Samezuka Academy! I don't care if you can't swim very well!"  
Makoto gave a little sigh behind me.  
"Sora, this is Kou Matsuoka, she's our club manager." He said introducing her to me. He turned his attention onto the desperate looking first year. "Kou, don't force this on her. It's only her first day at this school. She's just here to watch today."  
Kou's little shoulders dropped.  
"But we need one more before tomorrow otherwise they won't let us practice with them…" she despaired.  
I looked over my shoulder at Makoto.  
"Why is a joint practice with Samezuka Academy so important anyway? You have your own pool here, so why would you need to go there?"  
"It is true that we have our own pool and all, but there are only the four of us and it's not much of a challenge if we're doing practice races and we're continually racing against each other. It's good for us to get out and race against others whose swimming abilities we are unsure of."  
"That's fair enough, I can see where you're coming from."  
Makoto reached round me and picked a sheet of paper from a chair up and waved it at me. I took it from his hands and looked at it.  
"This is our training schedule for today. Have a read through it if you'd like to. I'd like to explain it in detail to you, but I've got to get back to my own training." He said as he walked back through the open doorway, his hands looped behind his head.  
I cast a glance back at Kou who had slumped back onto her knees, tapping at the keyboard of her phone frantically as she text. She had a determined look upon her face as she stared at the screen of her phone. She must have been negotiating the terms for the joint swimming practice. Her bottom lip was red, as if she had been biting down on it anxiously. I kind of felt sorry for her.

I turned back around and rushed into the afternoon sun shine, the training programme clenched tightly in my hands. Rei had finished his stretches by now and was in the water doing his warm up in the lane next to Nagisa.

I glanced down at the paper I held and my eyes flitted towards the warm up which consisted of 12 lengths of freestyle kick with the flutter board which was then followed by eighth lengths of their choice of stroke. I plonked myself into a seat close to the pool and gazed at Haruka practicing his tumble turns in the deep end. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Makoto diving into the pool. His back was arched into a slight downward curve, hands reaching out to the glinting pool surface and his legs out straight behind him. His hands pushed into the water first, the rest of his admirable body following until he was fully encompassed by the water.  
_Uwaaah, so cool…  
_I pushed my bag onto the seat next to me and examined their styles as they swam. They all swam very well, but Haruka's style was far superior and more graceful than the others but, I knew it was only because of his mermaid genes.

I suspected that Haruka hadn't told anyone about him being an Artificial Mermaid, and I didn't blame him, especially after all the bullying I had received throughout my childhood.

I gave a little sigh. I desperately wanted to get in and swim but I'd told myself that I would not swim today, even though I brought my togs along to school with me today.  
A familiar urge began to seed itself in my chest, encouraging me to jump in, telling me that it wouldn't hurt for me to swim for a little bit.  
It was the same yearning feeling as I felt last night, but this time it felt stronger, more powerful.  
It was possible that it felt stronger because I was resisting the urge to get in. I'd never resisted my desire to stay out of water before, so who knew what would happen if I ignored my instincts for much longer.  
I turned up my music and sang along in an attempt to distract myself from the insistent impulse coursing through my body.

"-ra chan! Hey, Sora chan! Are you alright?"  
I slowly lowered my eyes to the side of the pool where Nagisa was hanging off the edge, flicking water at my shoes. He looked slightly worried.  
"Huh, yeah. I'm fine." I said turning the volume of my music. "Why's that?"  
"You just had a really big frown on your face before. It kind of looked like you were in pain."  
I blinked in shock.  
"Huh? Did I?" I said touching my brow lightly.  
"Yeah, it was a _really_ big frown like this!" he said pulling a big frown of his own.  
"Maybe because I'm trying not to get in the water and swim with you guys." I said with a smile.  
Nagisa grinned and looked down at his hand.  
"…" he muttered in a low voice, a small grin decorating his face.  
I leant in closer to him.  
"What was that? I didn't hear you."  
He suddenly flicked his hand out of the water, sending up a spray of sparkling water into my face and on my top. I gave a splutter, coughing up the water that had splashed into my mouth. I wiped the water from my face with a flick of my hand, little drops of water spraying across the ground. He stifled a giggle with the back of his hand.  
"I said, why don't you just get in already!"

I looked down at my dripping wet top and then back to Nagisa whose laughter was still rolling from his lips. The cool water drops rolled over my skin, leaving a fiery trail as it passed over my flesh. At the touch of the water, the urge to get in the water grew stronger until it became unbearable for me to hold myself back.  
I stood up and pulled off my headphones and put them and my iPod in my pale pink duffel bag, making sure I put them away so I wouldn't have a similar incident as the previous night. I pulled off my shoes and grabbed the hem of my black singlet and started tugging it upwards.  
Nagisa's face flushed red and he put his hands up in defence.  
"W-wai-wait a moment Sora chan!" Nagisa cried.  
Makoto looked over at Nagisa's cry.  
"Sora! What on earth are you doing?" he called at me. "You can't possibly be thinking of getting in! You haven't got any togs!"  
I pulled my singlet over my head and threw it down next to my bag, to reveal the pale colour of my togs. I stripped off my jeans and fished through my bag for my goggles. The sun bounced off of the shiny scale pattern on my legs, making them glimmer and sparkle brilliantly. I pulled the hair tie holding my plait together out, unravelling the weaves of hair. The blue tresses fell down to brush against the bare skin where the togs did not cover my tan flesh.  
Nagisa's mouth dropped into a stunned 'o' shape.  
"Alright, I'll get in." I said with a grin as I snapped my darkened goggles on over my eyes securely.  
I took a short run up launching myself clear over Nagisa's head below me to dive smoothly into the water, my fingertips slicing through the surface of the water to create myself an entrance into the translucent liquid.

The water welcomed my body in a cold, wet embrace. It wrapped around me, stripping the outside of my body of the oxygen clinging to it, leaving a shimmering trail of bubbles as I gave myself to the water world.

I wished that I could stay like this forever, just drifting through the water without a care for the noisy world above. Water was quiet. It didn't argue or complain, it was a place where for, if only for a little while, one could let their worries go.

I lazily kicked to the surface, sucking in a breath of air as I breached the exterior of the pool. I pulled my goggles down to my neck. An uncontrollable giggle burst forth from my throat as I ran my fingers through my hair. Makoto began to approach, ducking under lane ropes as he came across them.

"Don't tell me that you wear your togs all day too Sora…" he groaned, glancing back over his shoulder at Haruka who had been watching in interest.  
I shook my head, little droplets of water spraying in every direction.  
"Nah, I got into them before I came to practice. That's why I was a little bit late today."  
"Why'd you get into your togs if you were only going to watch today?" Rei asked, leaning over the lane rope, making it dip under water.  
I rubbed the back of my head in a sheepish manner.  
"It's hard for me to stay out of the water. It was sort of a safety thing for me. I'd rather jump in the pool in my togs than while being in my clothing still."  
"Just like Haruka then. He can't seem to stay out of water." Rei concluded  
Hey, Sora. Why don't you do some swimming with us now that you're in the pool?" Haruka called from the other side.  
"Ohmygod! Please show us some swimming, Sora chan!" Nagisa cried excited from outside of the pool.  
I looked to Makoto who inclined his head.  
"Up to you Sora, but personally I wouldn't mind seeing you swim some more."  
"Oh, alright then." I said. "But only one length of each stroke, okay? No more than that…"

~xXx~

I stood on the side of the pool after doing length after length in the pool for the sheer enjoyment of the other members of the club.  
In the end, _I _was the one being observed as I swam while they watched from the side of the pool.  
_How on earth did that happen? I was only going to do one length of each stroke…_ I thought to myself as I traced the curves of my body with a fluffy grey towel.

Kou was standing next to me, hands clasped together so tightly that her knuckles were turning white from the stress. The boys had gone off to the changing rooms to get changed. I could hear them talking over the noise of the showers.

"I'm not asking much Sora, only that you join our club. Please? You're such a talented swimmer and I don't want that talent of yours to go to waste." She simpered.  
"So they still won't let you jointly train with them if you only have four swimmers then?" I asked as I scrubbed at my hair gently.  
She shook her head, the end of her ponytail flipping around the fringes of her face.  
"No. Well, it is true that we need another swimmer otherwise we can't have a joint practice, but, it's not about that anymore. Please! Please join our club!"  
"Hm, okay." I answered pulling my jeans up over my hips.  
"Please Sora! Please join the cl- Wait, what? You'll join?!" she cried, reaching for my hands and clasping them tightly.  
"Yeah, why not? Could be fun." I said with a light shrug, allowing a smile to tease at the corner of my lips.  
"Uwaaah! Thank you so much Sora! You won't regret joining the club!" she said, whipping out her phone.  
And so began my days as a swimmer of the Iwatobi Swim Club.

But little did I know, my days and love life were about to get a little bit more complicated…

* * *

_Hello everyone!  
I'm extremely sorry for the long wait but I finally finished it! (I struggled a little with this chapter -.-")  
Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. If so, you know what to do! Any and all reviews are welcome!  
I hope to see you back here for chapter four which I have started!  
Thanks again!  
Love, LunaFaustus  
xoxo_


	4. Mermaids and Moonlight

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, only my OCs.  
_Special thanks to: Kyoichi Amaya, Ren chan Anime, LegendarypkmnNyunyu and Xxdreamergirl95xX for reviewing :D and also thanks to those who have favourite or followed this! I really appreciate it everyone!_

* * *

"Hey Sora. We're heading over to Makoto's place for some pizza and to discuss how tomorrow is going to work out, wanna come with us?"

I turned my head around and cast my gaze back up to the top of the stairs, a wet tip of hair trailing across the back of my neck icily. Haruka was standing at the top of the stairs, pushing his bag up onto his shoulder. He started to walk down the stairs, taking two steps at a time until he was one step higher than me. I gave a polite smile.

"As much as I would love to go with you guys, I have to feed my dogs and I don't like to keep them waiting." I said apologetically.

There was truth in my words. I really did want to go with the others as a new member of the club, but, I knew that if I neglected to go home and tend to Noiz and Koujaku, they would leave the house in a state of disaster.

Kou's head appeared over the top of the stairs, a bright smile on her face. She seemed to be in a much happier mood now she had five members in the swim club.  
"Why don't we go to your house instead? Then you won't have to worry about your dogs and we'll all be able to be there." She suggested.  
"Yes! Let's go to Sora chan's house! I wanna see it!" Nagisa cried lurching over the stairs, linking his arm through mine as he sped past. "Lead the way, Sora chan!"  
I glanced behind myself and saw the rest of the club members waiting patiently. They all seemed to be waiting for me to do as Nagisa said.  
"Plus, your house is close to school as well, isn't it, Sora?" Haruka piped up from behind me.  
"What?! How did you know that?"  
"We followed you to school." Makoto answered in Haruka's place. "Haruka and I live in that area too."  
"Why don't I just feed my dogs and come over afterwards seeing as you live in the area?" I suggested.  
"No! We're going to Sora chan's house!" Nagisa shouted over the top of me.  
"Why _my_ house?"  
"Because I wanna see it!" he said with a childlike pout.  
I looked to the group who were all nodding their heads back at me.  
"Well, it seems that we're all equally as curious." Rei pointed out, pushing his glasses up his nose.  
I gave a defeated sigh.  
"Fine. Let's go then…"  
"Yes!" Nagisa shouted again. "Oh! I bet you live in a super flash place!"

~xXx~

"Uwah! You _do_ live in a super flash place, Sora chan!" Nagisa chattered excitedly in my ear as I unlocked the gate to my front yard. "Haha, how awesome is that?"

I gave a little shrug as I held the gate open for my club mates.  
"It does the job, I suppose." I said to wind up Nagisa. "My family home is _much_ nicer than this. Maybe I could take everyone in the club there sometime later during the summer."

Truth be told, this wasn't a lie. My family home _was_ nicer. It was also about ten times the size of the place I currently resided in. My family home was a private sea side resort on an island a little way away from the mainland It was actually where we lived, but, it was also fully equipped with guest rooms and guest facilities in case one of the family members brought friends or company home. It even had three different pools; one sea water pool, one chlorinated outdoor pool and a heated indoor pool. Not to mention the sea was practically on our doorstep too so that was always available for swimming in. My friends always made sure they came over when I invited them. Every time they came over, it was as if they had come on holiday. Not many people had an upbringing like I did, so I was keen to share it with others.

"I wanna go there too!" Nagisa cried, really getting excited now.  
"We can do a training camp there, maybe."  
"What? How would that work?" Makoto piped up.  
I gave a knowing smile and a little chuckle as I walked past them to open the front door to my house.  
"I'm home." I called as I stepped in, kicking off my shoes and placing them out of the way.  
"Excuse the intrusion~" everyone else chimed as they walked in with expressions of awe slathered across their faces as their eyes fell upon the sight of the entrance way.

"Wow Sora chan, this is a pretty decent house you've got here." Rei marvelled as we passed through to the living room. "My family home is not even this nice looking. Are you sure this isn't nicer than your family home?"

I turned to Rei with a charming smile.

"My family home is a sea side resort on a private island." I said casually.

"You say that as if it's a normal thing for someone to have a sea side resort as a home!" he exclaimed as he sat down on the floor with the others.

I nestled myself down between Rei and Haruka and looked at Kou expectantly as she pulled out a yellow folder from her school bag and flicked it open to the first page within. The page looked like it was a sheet containing the names, years and the dates that club members joined. She pulled a pen from her pocket and clicked the nib out smartly.  
"Right, so I just want to thank Sora once again for joining the Iwatobi Swimming Club! If not for her, we'd still be looking for a new member." She said cheerfully as she scribbled something onto the paper.  
"And Gou chan would still be hunched over in a dark corner of the club room possibly crying about not being able to ogle at the boys from Samezuka Academy's swimming team..." Nagisa added quietly.  
"You're welcome guys, I was hoping to find a swimming club somewhere ar-OW!" I yelped as something heavy smashed into my back.

I turned my head around to see an unhappy Noiz holding his empty food bowl between his teeth. Koujaku was sitting next to his bowl patiently. Noiz gave an unhappy whine and bumped his food bowl into my shoulder again impatiently.  
"Sorry everyone, I'll just go feed these two quickly."

However, by the time those words had left my mouth, Nagisa had already departed from his seat and was harassing Noiz, ruffling the shaggy fur around his head.

"So cute! What are their names?" he queried.  
"The white is called Noiz and the black one is Koujaku." I said relieving Noiz of his bowl. "They're Samoyeds. I've had them both for about a year or so."  
"From DRAMAtical Murder!" Kou blurted out before slapping her hands over her mouth.  
All of the males in the room cast her a quizzical glance, but seemed to ignore her outburst.

I hurriedly fed the two of them before popping myself back into my seating between the two dark haired swimmers.

"I'm sorry about that. I forgot I had to feed them. Anyway, as I was saying, I was looking for a swimming club here anyway. I was starting to get sick of having clubs turning me down."  
"Why would any club turn you down? You have so much talent as a swimmer! Everything you do is perfect, even your technique." Nagisa said, retaking his seat too. "It's really nice to watch, almost as nice as watching Haruka swim."  
"It's not just nice, it's beautiful! If I hadn't seen Haruka swim that time, seeing Sora swim would have made me want to swim." Rei said dramatically pushing his glasses up his nose.  
"More importantly, why won't any of the clubs let you join? It's not like you'd embarrass them at tournaments or anything." Makoto asked.  
I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, the silver piercing running over the ridges along the top of my mouth.

I knew someone would ask that question sooner or later.

"First of all, let me tell you something. My last name is not actually Renchika, nor is it Ren. It's Kobayashi." I said, weaving my fingers together.

Nagisa leapt to his feet, slamming his hands against the table in excitement. He seemed to make the connection first.

"No way! You're _the_ Sora Kobayashi?! She was my swimming idol!" he cried. He looked to the others sitting around the table who were looking somewhat confused at his sudden outburst. "Come on guys! This is _the_ Sora Kobayashi! The 13 year old who swam at the Olympics! She won either gold or silver in all of her races! Don't you guys remember?!"  
"Sora Kobayashi had blonde hair though." Makoto pointed out.  
Everyone pointed their gazes at me.  
"I used to dye my blonde during my early teens, but I always had blue hair. I just really hated it back then." I said. "If you don't believe me, I can go and retrieve my Olympic medals from upstairs."  
"I don't think someone would make a claim that big if they were lying." Haruka finally spoke up.  
"But that makes even less sense than before! Why would swimming clubs turn you down if they knew you were a successful Olympic swimmer?" Gou asked.  
"You were banned from the Olympics weren't you? Is that why clubs won't take you on?" Nagisa said, knowledgably.  
"You were banned! Why?!" Rei exclaimed shooting me a suspicious sidelong glance. "Did you take performance enhancing drugs?"  
"No! Of course not!" I spluttered. "No, they banned me because of what I am…"

The group sent me questioning glances. Apart from Haruka, he understood what I meant.

"Because of what you are? What does that mean? Aren't you human like the rest of us?"  
"I'll show you what I mean, but not here."  
"Why not here, Sora chan?" the little blonde swimmer asked.  
"It won't work here. We need a change of scenery." I said casting a smile at Haruka.

Haruka sent me a cheeky smile back. He knew exactly what I meant and he knew why.  
"Where are you thinking?" he asked.  
"I'm thinking Samezuka Academy."  
"Oh no, we're not going to go there. We've already been caught trespassing there once!" Makoto butted in.  
"Lighten up Mako chan! You want to find out why she was banned don't you?" Nagisa cried, seizing up his childhood friend's arm and shaking it.  
"I do, but…"  
"It's sorted! Let's go!"

~xXx~

"We actually came…" Makoto sighed as we stood outside of the pool complex.

By the time we had reached Samezuka Academy, the sun had completely set and it was almost pitch black. The full moon was hanging high in the sky, illuminating the glass sides of the building and it lit up the ground below our feet. My heart pounded at the sight of the pool building bathed in the moonlight. It was a beautiful sight, but it wasn't as nearly beautiful as moonlight on water. Or as beautiful as moonlight on Makoto.

I shouldered the bag I was holding in my hands. Makoto was looking around, as if he thought we would be caught at any moment. The moonlight bathed his tense body in a soft light that almost made him seem like an ethereal creature. He was clutching his bag to his chest tightly. The sight was so adorable and mesmerizing, that I couldn't stop myself from reaching out to him and grabbing onto his arm reassuringly. He threw his gaze down and smiled at me.

"So, how do we get in? It's all locked up." He continued, looking down on me.  
"Don't worry, I can sneak in there easily. I've done it before." I said with a cheerful wink.  
"Uhh, how many times…?" Rei asked.  
"10, maybe 11 times?" I said pushing a finger against my lips in thought. "But that doesn't matter. Let's get in there already!"  
"Wait, what?! 11 times and you haven't been caught once yet?"  
"Not even once and I don't intend to ruin my glorious uncaught streak tonight so keep your voices down would you?" I said in a low voice as I snuck around the side of the building to where a single solid metal door was placed amongst the glass panels.

Makoto walked up to the door and rattled the handle but it stubbornly remained shut.  
"It's locked. That's a shame, maybe we should just head back to our pool." He said quickly, sounding as if he would rather be anywhere but here.

I shot Makoto a mischievous grin and pulled a bobby pin from my pocket. I flourished it so that everyone could see it before I turned to the door and jammed it in the lock. I hummed to myself cheerfully as I wriggled and jiggled my bobby pin in the door patiently, waiting to hear the little 'click' the door would give when I successfully unlocked it. I'd done this many times before so it was only a matter of getting my pin to strike the right spot, and, as it turned out, it didn't take me very long release the lock on the door.

I pushed the handle of the door downwards and pulled it out towards myself. I thrust the bobby pin back into my pocket and turn back to the others who were staring at me, agape. They stood there staring at me, as if I had suddenly turned into some sort of monster, no one making a noise.

"Well, are we going in?" I asked rapping my knuckles on the back of the door quietly. "Or are you going to stand like that until the morning comes?"

At the sound of my knuckles tapping against the metal door, they blinked into life, filing into the building. Nagisa paused in front of me, his eyes sparkling.

"That was cool! Can you teach me how to do that?" he asked, referring to my lock picking skills.  
"Oh no, It's not such a good thing to know, Nagisa." I said with a little laugh, messing up his hair. "Just get in the building or we _will_ get caught."  
He dipped his head and moved on inside, his downhearted face disappearing in heartbeat as he lay his eyes on the sight before him.

The full moon's light streamed down through the glass panels, illuminating the pool with a radiant sparkle. The water held a watery version of the round moon in its grasp, reflecting it back up into the night sky. The sight warmed my heart. This was a view I had laid my eyes upon more than once and I was always stunned by the sheer beauty of such simplicity as the moon reflecting off of water.

I closed the door behind myself and re locked it before I joined my fellow team mates who were standing next to the benches that lined the far hand side of the pool. I unloaded my bag onto the bench next to everyone else's.

"I wish we had an indoor pool like this at Iwatobi…" Kou muttered as she looked around. "It would be so convenient. We could swim all year round."

I saw Haruka's eyes shine vividly as he heard the words 'swim all year round' tumble from Kou's lips.

"It would come with a hefty price tag that I don't think the school council would approve of." Rei inputted as I rifled through my bag for the familiar brown glass bottle.  
The pale moon light caught the curved edge of the glass bottle and I fished it out of my bag.  
"Maaah, it would be nice to have an indoor pool, though…" Nagisa sighed wistfully.

I turned back to the group, rattling the pill bottle loudly to capture their attention. When their attention was secured, I cleared my throat and began to speak.

"Okay everyone. Before I show you all why I was banned from swimming in the Olympics, you must all make me a promise." I said softly, looking each of them in the eye. "What you see here tonight, you must not tell anyone else, okay? I'm putting my trust in you guys to keep this a secret. Promise me you won't tell anyone this."  
My fellow club members shared glances of questioning and suspicion amongst themselves. I couldn't blame them. I knew I'd be sceptical too if I were in their shoes.

Why should they keep a secret for someone they hardly knew?

"We promise~" they chimed dutifully.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks everyone." I said as I began to strip off my outer clothing.

I wriggled out of my faded black skinny jeans and folded them neatly before placing them aside my aqua duffel bag. I caught my fingers underneath my dark red hoodie and the shirt lying underneath and tugged it off, discarding that on top of my neatly folded jeans.  
Now that had stripped away the unnecessary clothing, my togs were revealed.

I had a two piece swimming outfit which consisted of a lilac purple bikini-like top with a streak of bright green flashed along the hem and a silver patterned bottom. I unleashed my hair, letting the half dry curls cascade down my back like a thick stream of water.

I flicked the lid on the bottle off with my thumb and picked out a round, white pill with the letters 'A M' inscribed across the flatter sides. I popped the little pill into my mouth and swallowed it down without hesitation.

"Now, let the magic unfold." I announced dramatically as I wandered to the pool, anticipating the sensation of the transformation.

I dove into the warm waters of the Samezuka Academy's pool, my form perfect as always. As soon as my body was encompassed by the water, changes started to happen.

My ears started lengthening out and shaping into something that resembled a fin of sorts and along my neck, shallow slits of skin peeled away from my neck to form gills lined with oxygen trapping filaments. Down below my legs began to meld together. The soft flesh of my legs fused simultaneously to create one long elegant limb while a weird but familiar feeling struck my body as my leg bones melted together to provide support for my new tail. This was the more grotesque part of the transformation. Long, white ribbon like fins sprouted from above my tailbone and followed the curve of the new bone down my tail to where my feet were also undergoing a transformation into similar, but sturdier fins to propel me through the water. Smaller white ribbon fins formed on my fore arms and last but not least, glinting cerulean scales burst from my skin and lapped over the bare flesh in a wave of soft blue, covering from my hips to the start of the fins at the end of my tail. This happened in a very short second so I had no need to worry about my friends on the side of the pool being grossed out about the leg stage of the transformation.

I gave a happy little sigh.

This form to me just felt _right_, like I should be in this form all the time rather than in my human form. I felt _complete _and at home in my mermaid form. Everything about this form was natural, even breathing through my gills felt natural to me.

With a flick of my beautiful tail, I rose to the surface, breaching the surface with a flick of my darkened hair. I was met with astounded stares and silence circled the room for a few moments as they took in the sight before them. The glittering cerulean tail, the long white fins, it must have been a big shock to them all.

All of them except Haruka who was grinning from ear to ear, his blue eyes shining joyously. He popped his hand to his mouth and faster than a stripper, he threw off his clothing. He was a blur of tan and black as he lunged into the pool, sending up a spray of water droplets. When he surfaced, he had changed too. His ears were a similar shape to mine but no gills decorated his neck. His hair seemed to have grown during the transformation as it now reached just below his shoulders. His tail was made up of glistening jet black scales and his fins were not ribbon like as mine were, they were sturdy and did not have as much fluidity to them. The colour of his fins were similar to the strips on his togs that he never seemed to take off.

I rolled my hips and glided towards the edge of the pool where my stunned team mates stood staring at Haruka and I.

"Mermaids… You two are fricken mermaids…" Kou muttered, pinching herself. "Maybe if I pinch myself hard enough, I might wake up…"

Rei's glasses had clattered to the floor without him noticing and his eyes were flicking between Haruka and me, his jaw flapping open and shut as if he were trying to say something but no noise was coming forth. Nagisa was trembling excitedly and Makoto was just…standing there. Not moving. Not saying anything at all.

I waved my hand in his line of vision. No reaction. Not even a blink.

An idea seeded itself in my head and I reached out for his foot, watching him to see if he would react.

Nothing.

I curled my cold fingers around his ankle and gave a sharp tug, pulling him off balance. He blinked rapidly and his face blanched as he realised what was happening. He stumbled along the edge of the pool, his arms flailing comically as he desperately tried to regain his balance.

"Oh crap! Not again!" he uttered seconds before he splashed into the water with Haruka and me.

Well, that got me a reaction.

I giggled behind my hand as he surfaced, water running off of his uniform which stuck to his skin, defining the toned muscles beneath his white shirt. I silently thanked the lord for white shirts. Makoto didn't seem angry though as he ran his fingers through his now wet hair. He gave a charming chuckle and swiped at a dribble of water that was making a dash down his cheek.

"So they banned you from the Olympics because you're a mermaid?" Makoto asked.  
"She's not a mermaid, Mako chan! She's an _Artificial Mermaid_!" Nagisa burst excited, hopping on the side of the pool. "They both are! That's so cool! I want to be an Artificial Mermaid!"  
"What's the difference between them?" Makoto asked examining me in interest.  
"Mermaids existed ages ago and never had a human form. Whereas Artificial Mermaids are humans that have DNA 99% similar to a mermaid's DNA but to take on their mermaid form, they have to take a pill that fills in the missing one per cent. That is the difference Mako chan!" Nagisa said proudly. "I've studied about Artificial Mermaids since I knew they were real."

The little blonde swimmer hopped into the pool fully clothed as well and grabbed one of the ribbon like fins that was trailing through the water lazily.

"It's just so _cool_ to have _two_ Artificial Mermaids as friends!" he said feeling the silky texture under his fingers. "Wow! This is so soft!"

Makoto turned to me, the moonlight reflecting off the surface of the water below, throwing a handsome light over Makoto's body and face.

Was it bad that I wanted to wrap my arms around the boy and never let go?

"Why did they ban you though?" he asked, lightly placing his hands on my scaly hips.  
"They claimed I had an unfair advantage over the other competitors." I explained. "Artificial Mermaids are generally awesome swimmers. Much like me and Haruka."

"Do all Artificial Mermaids look as beautiful as you though?" he muttered quickly, a red flush tainting his cheeks.

I felt my own cheeks flush a similar shade and I went to reply when the lights were suddenly flicked on, banishing the majestic moonlight and filling the room with fake light. All the heads in the room turned towards the direction of the light switches.

Leaning against the wall in a dark tracksuit was a tall, young boy with wild maroon hair that flopped into his glinting red eyes. He pushed himself away from the way, hands tucked in his pockets. He gave a menacing grin and wandered over. He had pointed teeth and I ran my tongue over my own, slightly pointed teeth, the silver ball piercing making small noises as I did so.

"Well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in." he drawled as he stopped next to the pool on the other side. He looked down on Haruka in his mermaid form. "It's been sometime since I've seen you in that form, Haruka."

Makoto quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me into his chest and turned his back to the red eyed boy, to shield me from sight. My heart couldn't help but beat faster at the intimacy of his hug. I grabbed fistfuls of his see through shirt and clenched it tightly, leaning my head into his collar bone. Nagisa waved enthusiastically at the boy.

"Good evening Rin chan~!" he called out.  
"Hm? Oh you're here too. And Kou too." He said. "Is that Makoto over there as well?"

Makoto turned his head slightly and nodded at the boy.

"Who is that?" I whispered to Makoto.  
"That's Rin Matsuoka. He used to be a really good friend of ours." He muttered back.

"What was that Makoto?" Rin called out. "Who're you talking to?"  
"No one." He said defensively.  
"You sound pretty defensive for someone who's not hiding anything."

I could hear Rin's light footsteps as he walked around to our side of the pool. They stopped before us and I turned my head away from Makoto's chest to see Rin, grinning in an intimidating way. His eyes skimmed my body and they lit up.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" he announced with a chuckle. "Didn't think I'd meet someone like _you_ here. This _is_ an interesting turn of events…"

* * *

_Hello everyone!  
Welcome back to chapter four of Artificial Mermaid!  
I apologise for this being a longer chapter, I just had so much to get down!  
Anyway, you all know the drill: review, fave, follow if you liked it! I would love to hear what you thought!  
Thanks again for reading and I'll see you here hopefully for chapter five!  
Love, LunaFaustus  
xoxo_


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